Spring-spiration

By FRANCINE m AIgu E

This week, I share with you inspirational quotes to help with the “spring cleaning” of our souls.

“But from this earth, this grave, this dust, My God shall raise me up, I trust.”

~Walter Raleigh

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.”

~Martin Luther

“Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.”

~Floyd W. Tomkins

“Let every man and woman count himself immortal.

Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection.

Let him say not merely, ‘Christ is risen,’ but ‘I shall rise.’”

~Phillips Brooks

BLISS

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And her ministry to serve seniors, has extended to prepare the next generation to carry on the gauntlet. Amid COVID-19 restrictions and the shortage of healthcare workers, Jones got her CNA school, Heart to Serve, certified. She was able to hire a teacher, and Heart to Serve began partnering with local skilled nursing/nursing pathway facilities.

“We like to promote passion and a heart to serve to create a pool of [people] with the heart to do it,” Jones said. “That’s so important. When I talk to my peers at my age, [they say], ‘Who’s going to care for us when we get to the age where we need help?’ We need to create a pool right now. The needs are here. The workers are here.”

Over 100 students have made it through the pathway, according to

“Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there.”

~Clarence W. Hall

“The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.”

~Henry Knox Sherrill

“We live and die; Christ died and lived!”

~John Stott

“It is the hour to rend thy chains, The blossom time of souls.”

~Katherine Lee Bates

May we all embrace the Easter spirit and every opportunity to lift ourselves up to our greatest potential and fulfillment, my pampered friends!

Cheers to rising on and on and on,

*Francine Maigue

Jones, and some have returned as registered care providers to serve at the non-profit, BLISS. Her consulting services have also helped get one CNA school and two caregiving agencies licensed.

“We are not in competition because for every company that is out there, we may be the same in what we’re doing, but there’s gifts for each one of us,” Jones said. “Not one person can eat the whole pie. Everybody has to have a slice. The more the better because we can help more seniors.”

Moving forward, Jones said she looks forward to seeing the ways BLISS steps into the role as a nonprofit to activate the community and beyond.

“Right now, we’ve been trying out small grants, but I know you have to have at least a year or two status before you can get huge grants,” Jones said. “My goal is to serve the ones in El Cajon, and then

“The Pampered Pinay”

Check back every week for ways to pamper yourself and those you love. Why? The answer is simple: YOU DESERVE IT!

Do you want to send a love note at The Filipino Press ? Email us at filpressads@aol.com we extend that to the whole [of] San Diego and then California.”

We love to hear from you our dear readers!

Until then, she said she is motivated to continue to offer support to her community and give in the ways she can through the BLISS Care Foundation, Heart to Serve Institute, First Promise Care Services and consulting.

“It’s not about your wealth. I’m a millionaire in the fact that I make an impact every single day,” Jones said. “You do not measure a person’s success by how much money they have in the bank; it’s measured by the impact they make in people’s lives daily.”

To learn more about the“Fund in the Sun” fundraising visit https:// blisscarefoundation.org/. You can also visit the First Promise website for inquiries regarding senior inhome care and the Heart to Serve website to learn more about CNA and CHHA courses offered.

Happy Philippine Independence Day/ Month Celebration to Everyone!!!

The Filipino Press

MANILA -- The bill seeking to establish the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) is now awaiting the signature of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

This comes after the House of Representatives formally adopted the Senate's version of the MIF bill during the plenary session on Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, House committee on banks and financial intermediaries chair Irwin Tieng said the House contingent to the bicameral conference committee agreed to accept the provisions under Senate Bill 2020.

“On behalf of the Congress panel, we accept the Senate version in principle, subject to style,” Tieng said.

The bill seeks to establish the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), which "shall act as the sole vehicle for the purpose of mobilizing and utilizing the MIF for investments in transactions in order to generate optimal returns on investments (ROIs)."

Certified as "urgent" by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the MIF is a sovereign wealth fund that will be used to invest in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixedincome instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate and infrastructure projects. The fund is expected to generate income for the government and help promote economic development.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the adoption of the Senate version would allow the Executive to start crafting the rules and regulations of the proposed law.

Salceda reiterated that the proposed MIF will not touch the funds of the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), or Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).

The Senate version, he said, also retained most of the accountability and transparency safeguards established by the House.

"To refine the implementation, I raised some points during our pre-bicameral conference meeting that I hope can be addressed by the Executive," he said.

He suggested some possible tweaks that can be done during the drafting of the implementing rules and regulations, such as the Civil Service Commission regulating MIF employees, the listing of the MIF in the stock market, and allowing multilateral financing institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to be strategic partners with a stake in the founding of the MIF.

"I congratulate House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Chairman Irwin Tieng, and our Senate counterparts. I will continue to offer what I can by way of prior experience and subject matter expertise in the drafting of the IRR," he said.

Under the bill, the MIC shall have its principle place of business in Metro Manila, but may maintain branches and agencies in other areas within and outside the country.

It shall have an authorized capital stock of PHP500 billion, with common shares of PHP3.75 billion, to be subscribed by the national government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations or government financial institutions except Social Security

System, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.

Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, and the national government will each contribute PHP50 billion to the fund.

Marcos: No intention of using pension funds as seed funds for Maharlika

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday guaranteed that the national government has no intention of using state pension funds as “seed fund” for the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

In an interview with reporters, Marcos, however, said pension funds themselves could invest in the proposed sovereign wealth fund if they think it is "good investment."

"Of course, ah no, I agree. We have no intention of using… kukuha tayo ng pera ng pension fund," Marcos said.

"We will not use it as a seed fund. However, if a pension fund, which is what pension funds do, is they invest. If the pension fund decides that Maharlika fund is a good investment, it's up to them if they want to invest in it," he added.

Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso said in a separate interview that even before, discussions were made that pension funds will not be utilized for the sovereign wealth fund.

"Noon pa hong a-dose ng Disyembre, ang mga pension funds katulad po ng GSIS ay di na po kasama. Hindi ho natin alam kung ano pang mga diskusyon na nangyayari sa mga bagay na 'yan," Veloso said.

"Isa lang ho ang gagawin natin, kung ano po ang desisyon ng mga mambabatas sapagkat sila'y nakikinig sa ating taumbayan, eh 'yun po ang susundin natin. Kami po ay nakapatnubay lang kung anong bibigay na direksyon sa amin," he added.

Following marathon deliberations, the Senate approved early Wednesday the proposed measure seeking to establish the sovereign wealth fund.

The bill states that the MIF would be created through the funds THAT will be sourced from:

Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP): P50 billion

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP): P25 billion

National Government: P50 billion

Meanwhile, the contribution from the national government will come from the following sources: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' total declared dividends

National government's share from the income of PAGCOR Properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office

Other sources such as royalties and/or special assessments

Among the major amendments introduced to the bill was the absolute prohibition of the use of funds of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) corporation, Pag-IBIG, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippines Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in the capitalization and investments in the Maharlika fund.

On Monday, Senator Risa

Hontiveros raised what she called a "backdoor provision" in the MIF bill, which provides that "other government financial institutions government-owned and -controlled corporations may invest into the MIF, subject to their respective investment and risk management strategies and approval of their respective boards."

The SSS and GSIS are both GOCCs or government-owned and -controlled corporations.

Hontiveros, who voted against the passage of the bill, said the backdoor would work if the GSIS board would change its investment strategy and "gamble" the over a trillion-peso fund of the GSIS in the MIF.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said board members of state pension institutions should not be "precluded" from deciding on possible investments in proposed sovereign wealth fund.

Senate votes to prohibit GSIS, SSS, etc. from investing in Maharlika

The Senate on Tuesday adopted an amendment in its version of the Maharlika Investment Fund bill to prohibit state pension and insurance funds from investing in the sovereign wealth measure.

Banned from investing in the MIF are the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Pag-IBIG Fund, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Philippines Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO).

The amendment of Section 12 of Senate Bill 2020 reads, “Provided, that other GFIs and GOCCs may invest into the MIF, subject to their respective investment and risk management strategies, and approval of their respective boards; Provided, further that the government agencies and GOCCS providing for the social security and public health insurance of government employees, private sectors, workers, and employees, and other sectors and subsectors, such as but not limited to the GSIS, SSS, PhilHealth, OWWA, PVAO, and PagIBIG, shall be absolutely prohibited whether mandatory of voluntarily to invest in the MIF: Provided, Furthermore, that the Investments from LBP, DBP, and other GFIS shall not exceed 25% of their net worth.”

The prohibition was first proposed by Senator Raffy Tulfo in Section 6 of the capitalization and initial funding.

Senator Pia Cayetano said many senators also proposed a similar amendment not only on the capital funding but also in the other sections such as Section 12.

“The rationale for this as many of our colleague including this representation has manifested on the floor in as much as we truly hope that the fund will be successful, we would like to ensure that the pension fund and aforementioned funds would not be touched to at least preserve this because we have experienced in the past the hard-earned money of our people were lost,” Cayetano said during the Senate session.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva and Senator Imee Marcos earlier expressed reservations over the use of pension funds as seed capital of the MIF.

While there’s a push to pass the measure before the adjournment of the session on June 2, Marcos and Senator Francis Escudero said the MIF bill still contained vague provisions and it still has no final form. (MNS)

MANILA -- The Philippine government’s running debt has ballooned to a new record high as of end-April this year, mostly due to the weakening of the peso, which increased the local currency equivalent of foreign obligations during the period, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed Wednesday.

The national government’s outstanding debt stood at P13.911 trillion, up 0.4% or P52.24 billion, from P13.856 trillion as of end-March 2023.

The Treasury attributed the increase to “the net issuance of external debt and local currency depreciation against the US dollar.”

Broken down, the bulk, or 68%, government’s total debt stock was sourced locally, while the remaining 32% were foreign borrowings.

In particular, domestic debt totaled P9.457 trillion, down 0.6% from P9.513 trillion, as of the prior month.

The lower domestic debt was “due to the net redemption of domestic securities amounting to P57.79 billion.”

This, however, was slightly offset by the P2.47 billion effect on onshore foreign currency-denominated securities caused by peso depreciation against the US dollar, according to the BTr.

In April, the Philippines sank to a four-month low against the US dollar, tracking the P56:$1 level during the period.

Foreign debt, meanwhile, saw an increase of 2.5% to P4.453 trillion from P4.343 trillion as of end-March 2023.

“For April, the increment to external debt was due to the P27.98 billion net availment of external loans and P94.28 billion impact of localcurrency depreciation against the US dollar,” the Treasury said.

“On the other hand, third-currency adjustments against the US dollar trimmed P12.30 billion from the peso value of foreign currency debt,” it said.

Despite the increase in the debt pile, its size compared to the economy’s worth has shrunk as of the first quarter of the year.

For the January to March 2023 period, the Philippines' debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 61%, down from 63.5% in the first quarter of 2022, Diokno said in a statement.

The debt-to-GDP ratio represents the amount of the government’s debt stock relative to the size of the economy.

The government is targeting to bring down the debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60% by 2025, then further down to 51.1 percent in 2028, and reduce the budget deficit to 3.0% of GDP by 2028. (MNS)

BSP expects May inflation to cool down further to 5.8% or stay at 6.6%

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expecting inflation to continue its downtrend in May or remain at the same level as the previous month amid lower fuel, food, and utility prices.

In its month-ahead forecast, the BSP said it expects inflation —the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services— to clock in within the range of 5.8% to 6.6%.

The upper end of the central bank’s forecast range is the same level as April’s 6.6% inflation print.

“The cumulative rollback in domestic petroleum prices as well as lower poultry and fish prices and electricity rates of various regional power distributors could lead to lower inflation in May,” the BSP said.

However, the central bank said upward price pressures would come from higher prices of rice, vegetables, and other key food items as well as the increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and Meralco electricity rates.

“Going forward, BSP will continue to monitor developments affecting the outlook for inflation and growth in line with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy formulation,” it said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is set to release official inflation rate figures for May on June 6.

PBBM orders geomapping of agri lands to increase farmers’ yield and income

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wanted all agricultural lands in the country to undergo geomapping to establish soil maps for specific agricultural products to ensure increased yield and improve farmers’ income.

Marcos issued the order during a meeting with the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) in Malacañang on Wednesday.

According to the President, the government is already using geomapping in resolving titling issues to boost agricultural production and increase the income of farmers.

“Iyong sa geomapping, actually ginagamit na namin ang mapa ng BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) at saka NAMRIA (National Mapping and Resource Information Authority). We are putting together everything kasi mahirap naman ipa-survey lahat. So, para alam na natin ‘yung mga areas and it started also with irrigation, sa NIA,” Marcos said in the meeting.

“So from that, ‘yung titling problem na sinasabi natin, magiging mas madali. But at least ma-define na natin ‘yung mga parcels of land and, in that way, alam na natin. So, kung maalis na natin ang titling problem, mas madali na lahat.”

According to an online source, geomapping “is the process of converting raw data from surveys into a geomap that helps by providing a visualization of the location of utilities quickly and accurately.”

PRISM raised several concerns during the meeting although, based on the discussions, many of those challenges could readily be addressed by the current government interventions and programs.

Among these concerns are high cost of rice production and limited market access, limited access to capital investment, adverse BIR policies, lack of extensive irrigation system and climate crisis-El Niño threat, and slow adoption of vital rice production technology.

Unavailability and lack of access to real-time data, misaligned programs and activities across agri-related government agencies, inconsistent consultative meetings among the various rice stakeholders, and rice smuggling were also among the identified roadblocks to higher productivity.

Existing government interventions addressing these concerns include the implementation of Farm and Fisheries Consolidation and Clustering program (F2C2), provision of various support services including credit and financing by the DA and the Land Bank of the Philippines, and establishment of climate-smart agriculture infrastructure.

The administration is also formulating the National Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan and other plans, in consultation with other stakeholders, to guide the development of the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

It is also utilizing information technology to gather, analyze, and use data for food production such as the Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines or SARAI, and has been conducting regular meetings conducted by the National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development.

The recalibration of importation schedule is also being carried out to protect local farmers and industries. The government is also studying the requirements of the proposed preshipment inspection system by the Department of Finance (DOF), DA, and other government agencies, and the DA is also conducting a review of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Clustering, low soil fertility, mill modernization and improved milling process were also discussed during the Palace meeting.

Founded in 2019, PRISM is composed of multisectoral groups involved in the rice industry value chain. Its goal is to address the fragmented government approach in addressing issues and help protect the interests of all stakeholders, from the farmers to the consumers.

The President met with the members of the PRISM in Malacañang Palace and discussed the status of the Philippine rice industry, issues and concerns of the stakeholders, and possible ways forward.

Betty affects nearly 15K individuals in 6 regions

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Wednesday that about 3,821 families or 14,908 individuals have been affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Betty.

In its latest disaster bulletin, the agency said these families are residing in 94 barangays in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and the Cordillera regions.

Of the affected population, only 216 or about 806 persons are being aided inside 31 evacuation centers while the rest are seeking shelter with relatives and friends, or have returned home.

As of posting, the NDRRMC reported five houses damaged by Betty in Ilocos, Central Luzon, and Cordillera, two of which were classified as "totally damaged."

Earlier, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, said no major damage has been reported during the onslaught of Betty. (MNS)